by Lupe Gore

We at Feral Paws Rescue always welcome those cats who have special needs and this month we will tell the story of two of those cats who have warmed our hearts.

Stevie has only been with us for a short time, but he has endeared himself to us already. He is only a little over a year old, a handsome gray tabby with some white markings. What makes Stevie a “special needs” cat is that he is completely sight impaired. We placed him in a single-level “house” so he wouldn’t have to navigate jumping up on anything and could go directly from the main part of that house where his litter pan, food and water are, into his “bedroom.” Stevie is acutely aware of his surroundings and knows exactly where his dry food bowl is when his caretaker comes to refill it. He also senses when that person is putting fresh water into his water bowl. Most of all, he knows, probably by smell, when he is getting his wet food in his own little bowl.

Stevie loves to be petted and given as much attention as he can get, although he is a quiet cat who doesn’t vocally beg for that attention. He has toys in his house with him and since he senses the catnip in them, will play with those toys often.

As it turned out, Stevie wouldn’t be alone in his house for very long. After only a couple of weeks, our rescue was contacted to save another blind cat––this one being a kitten who is about four months old now. The cutest little white boy with some black and gray tabby markings, whose name is Dash, came to join us. Dash has a medical condition called Microphthalmos where the eyes are smaller than normal, generally as a result of an abnormal development of the fetal eye. In cases where the structure of the eyes is normal, there may be some vision. If internal eye structures are abnormal, vision may be absent.

No matter if Dash can see or not, he is a delightful kitten. He interacts with Stevie, and they both eat and sleep together. It is such a blessing to have two vision-impaired cats of different ages get along so well! Dash does like to talk more than Stevie and right now has the sweetest little kitten meow. He also knows when his human caretaker is approaching to open the door of his house and gives the cutest meow greeting! It’s so heartwarming to see them playing together. During the afternoon they usually take their naps, and can feel the warm breeze come through their house in the early evening.

The more time these two precious cats spend together, it seems the closer they get. We are so elated that they have become such good friends in such a short time, and getting to watch Dash grow is just another bonus. Stevie and Dash are what rescue is all about––two lives saved, despite their special needs.

EMAIL: fprg.org@gmail[dot]com
Phone: 559-412-7226

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section & watch for more stories from Feral Paws every month, and we would love to have you join our KRL Pets Facebook group. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to Feral Paws.